ORLANDO, Fla. — As Isaiah Thomas takes his rightful place in the Cavaliers’ starting lineup, Jose Calderon’s time as a key contributor to this team has all but ended. Barring injury, Calderon’s minutes will likely be limited moving forward to those nights when Thomas rests.

Calderon has already given this team more than anyone could’ve rightfully expected when the Cavs signed him on the first day of free agency last summer. Now, however, he’ll take his place alongside Channing Frye as another overlooked veteran who helped stabilize a team that was searching for an identity not long ago.

Calderon and Frye don’t have much in common, other than the fact they entered the NBA during the same year. Frye was the eighth overall pick of the New York Knicks in 2005, the same season Calderon was a 24-year-old guard quietly starting his NBA career in Toronto after seven seasons overseas. Both are scorers with heavy defensive flaws, but it’s hard to argue with...

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